A/N: Thank you for the reviews everyone who did review (duh), and thanks for reading :) I aim to update this story twice a week, just so you know, so that means every 3-4 days.

Chapter 2: Got any change?

Every inch of the house was filled with loud music, the scent of strong alcohol, and people swaying either to the music, or due to the heavy drinking.

A group of girls in short skirts was gathered around two guys who were arm-wrestling, and the girls cheered them on. On one of the couches, a girl sat on a guy’s lap and started a heated up tongue-wrestling match with him. In the corner, two guys got into a fistfight, and at the same time, a girl started throwing up right on the carpeted floor.

It was just a regular house party, a normal Friday night.

Now 17 year old Gia was already quite tipsy, and had lost her heels somewhere along the way from the bathroom to the table. Her hair had miraculously survived through the night without tangling horribly, but her make-up couldn’t quite hide the fact that she was drunk out of her mind. Her cheeks had gotten a lovely shade of red and her eyes had difficulty to zoom anywhere.

Gia took one last drag from the cigarette and then put it inside one of the empty beer bottles.

She grabbed another beer from the table, and took a long sip from the bottle. The girl giggled when a pair of arms found her hips, fingers trailing along the waist of her low jeans. The young man pressed himself against her and she felt his hard-on against her ass, and giggled again.

“Hey stranger,” he whispered near her ear, just loud enough for her to hear over the music, and grinned. She could smell the alcohol and cigarette smoke on him, but the hot breath on her bare skin made her excited.

“Sean,” she purred his name, and turned around to face him. He was taller than her, so she stood on her toes, leaning on him for support, and kissed him with passion. When they broke apart, she grabbed his hand and led him through the crowd to an empty, secluded room, closing the door behind them.

The chatter and loud music blurred out as the door closed, and Gia bit her bottom lip, looking at him. She placed her hands on his shoulders, guiding him to the bed. He sat down on the edge of the single bed, and Gia pushed him down.

She climbed on the bed, crawled on top of him, and her hands trailed down to his belt. As she proceeded to unbuckle it, he looked up at her and with his hands, lifted her shirt to reveal a black bra.

Gia reached for the night stand, and dug around in the drawer for a bit until she found what she was looking for. She had known it was there, there always were some in this house. She took the small plastic object, and set it aside for now. They’ll need it a bit later.

Gia leaned down, still straddling him. She kissed him as his hands started to roam her body, and she got lost in the moment. She knew she wouldn’t be able to remember a thing the following morning, but she was perfectly fine with that.

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The nice house in the Connecticut suburbs was completely silent and dark by the time she got home. The floor creaked as she walked in the hall. A light went on in another room, and Gia quickly slipped into her own room.

Hurriedly she pulled on a robe, sprayed some perfume and messed up her hair.

“Gia? What are you doing up?” her mom asked, peeking into the dark room.

“I got up to go to the bathroom,” Gia explained. The lie came out without any trouble, she was so used to it by now.

“Well get to sleep.”

“Okay mom.”

The woman left, returning to bed and Gia sighed in relief. One of these days she will get caught. She was just glad that this was not that day.

___________________

Gia woke up with a headache. The pounding in her head wasn’t as bad as a few days ago when she last went out, but it was enough to make her want to stay in bed for the whole day.

“Good morning sweetie,” her mother cheered, stepping into the room. Stella scrunched up her nose when she smelled the strong scent of alcohol. “Why don’t we open up a window?”

Gia closed her eyes abruptly when the thick curtains were thrown open, and a rush of cold air entered the room.

“Oh, I almost forgot,” Stella said. “Your father called. He’s coming over to see you in a few days! Isn’t that exciting?”

“Yeah, I’m thrilled,” Gia mumbled. Usually news like that would’ve made her jump out of the bad, as she rarely saw her father anymore what with him being in the studio, recording a new album 24/7, or being on tour. But this particular morning she couldn’t have cared less.

A 3-year-old girl with blonde hair in a braid ran into the room and jumped on the bed, screaming: “Gia! Come play with me! Mommy got me a new Barbie!”

“Come on, Grace,” Stella laughed, taking the little blonde girl’s hand and guiding her out of the room. “Gia is feeling a bit ill, we should let her rest.”

Gia lay on her bed for a while, just listening to the chatter and laughter coming from downstairs as her half-sister and half-brother ate their breakfast.

Eventually she managed to drag herself up from the bed, and out of the stuffy room. Her head was spinning from the pain and she felt dizzy, but by taking support from the walls, she managed to walk somewhat straight.

But before she even reached the stairs, she was pulled back harshly. Her stepdad, Thomas had a tight grip of her arm, and she glared up at him. She was feeling lousy enough as it was, she didn’t need his crap.

Before he spoke, he glanced at the stairs to make sure no one was coming upstairs. He couldn’t allow his wife or kids to see this.

“Had a fun night, I see,” Thomas pointed out, looking at her judgingly, but he kept the tone of his voice polite.

“Not that you’d know anything about fun,” Gia shot back, her voice a lot less formal.

“Your principal called, you weren’t at school yesterday.”

Gia’s fists balled up as she spat at him: “You’re not my father. Don’t try to act like one.”

His jaw clenched as his other hand moved to her throat and he slammed her against the wall. It hurt, but Gia didn’t let it show. She couldn’t give him the satisfaction of letting him know he was getting to her. His grip on her throat was loose enough for her to breathe, but only barely. His aim wasn’t to strangle her, only to make her feel pain.

“As long as you are under my roof, you do whatever I tell you to do. You will go to school. And you will not go to parties anymore. Got it?”

When Gia didn’t answer, only stared at him, he tightened his grip around her throat.

“Got it?” he repeated.

The hesitant nod she gave him was very small, but it still got the message across.

He let go of her arm and throat, leaving red marks, and they stared at each other challengingly for a moment before Gia turned around and continued her journey downstairs.